The present invention relates generally to textile apparatus for doffing and donning bobbins from a spinning or winding machine and, more particularly, to an apparatus for gripping and positioning a roving bobbin in proper drive connection on a winding spindle of a roving machine.
In conventional textile roving machines where roving is wound in relatively large packages onto elongate bobbins, the roving bobbins are supported on respective driven spindles of the roving machine in a positively driven fashion typically by the provision of mating drive components on the bobbins and winding spindles. Accordingly, it is necessary when doffing full roving packages from the roving machine and donning empty bobbons onto the vacated winding spindles that the proper drive connection between the mating components be correctly established. Ordinarily, the proper drive connection is achieved by initially placing the empty bobbin on the winding spindle and then rotating the bobbin with respect to the spindle as necessary to properly align and mate their driving components.